In A Typical Year, Do You Read Any Literary Novels?

[mauGR1]

I LOVE writers who can make me interested in subjects that I am not usually interested in. For example, I hate baseball and I hate sports, but there are a fair number of books about both these things that I really enjoy.

Last year, I read a few books by Jon Krakauer about mountain climbing and trecking in Alaska and then I went out and bought every classic mountain climbing book I could find even though I would never climb A MOUNTAIN IN A MILLION YEARS.

Ha ha the same to me with sea adventures.I would be bloody scared to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean,but i can read any book about the sea.

Love mountain books as well though i used to climb a lot.

I don't think the E- Books are going to have an easy win soon against the old good books,some people(including me)love them to bits.

[Ulysses G.]

I go swimming at a hotel pool almost every day and I always look to see what everyone is reading and enjoy the colorful covers and artwork.

People sitting around staring at flat, space age machines just wouldn't be the same.

[SeanMoran]

You are quite right,for some years i was reading several Stephen King's horror novels.

I think that genre is pure trash,but King is a brilliant writer.At least he was.

I believe it was 2008 that Stephen King's Duma Key was published, and I don't know if you've read it, but if not, while it did seem to delve into the occult as a main underlying theme beneath the surface plot on rehabilitation from industrial accidents, it was a change from the usual 'horror' that I've read of his before.

The best of his books I've read for a good story, and again so expertly written as you mentioned about Mr King.

Also, sorry for the rough usage of 'good' and 'bad'. I was demonstrating 'bad' in that post, but the determinant seems to be how frequently throughout a paperback, if at all, the reader questions the possibility of nepotism or bribery having been part of the process by which it ever got published, or if the editors were on vacation that week. It steals the attention of the reader from the story itself.

[GarryP]

Does John Updike's Bech at Bay qualify as literary? Read it a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it about as much as a trip to the dentist. What about John Irving, some really good stuff and some that I just could not get into.

Read mainly pulp and when in the mood Carl Hiaasen really brightens the day.

[Jingthing]

Does John Updike's Bech at Bay qualify as literary? Read it a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it about as much as a trip to the dentist. What about John Irving, some really good stuff and some that I just could not get into.

Read mainly pulp and when in the mood Carl Hiaasen really brightens the day.

Updike is of course a literary novelist. I have read some of his stuff and he doesn't wow me either.

However, I reject completely that all literary novels are painful to read. For a great example, try The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

I read John Irving's The World According to Garp years ago and enjoyed it, but I think that would probably read as very dated today. Yes I think that would be considered a literary novel and also a bestseller. I am not aware of his other books.

Edited January 25, 2010 by Jingthing

[SeanMoran]

I read John Irving's The World According to Garp years ago and enjoyed it, but I think that would probably read as very dated today. Yes I think that would be considered a literary novel and also a bestseller. I am not aware of his other books.

Cider House Rules by John Irving, 1985 if I recall. Set in the North-Eastern USA in the early 20th century through WWII and primarily concerned with the pro-life/pro-abortion argument in the USA of that time.

Goodnight you kings of New England, you princes of Maine!

[Jingthing]

I read John Irving's The World According to Garp years ago and enjoyed it, but I think that would probably read as very dated today. Yes I think that would be considered a literary novel and also a bestseller. I am not aware of his other books.

Cider House Rules by John Irving, 1985 if I recall. Set in the North-Eastern USA in the early 20th century through WWII and primarily concerned with the pro-life/pro-abortion argument in the USA of that time.

Goodnight you kings of New England, you princes of Maine!

I think I may have read that and totally forgot it, ha ha.

[Ulysses G.]

John Irving is considered to be literature and he is very popular. Personally, I don't like his style, but I consider him to be a good writer that I do not enjoy.

I'm not a big Updike fan either, but he is considered literature and a major writer.

[zzaa09]

As a younger lad, I was drawn to fiction of every sort. As I grow older, I find much more active stimulation through non-fiction accounts {historical, political, scientific}. If I were to 're-up' towards fictitious reading enjoyment, I might lean towards distinguished pens as Philip K. Dick, Peter Lamborn Wilson, Gore Vidal, George Plimton, Langston Hughes, Kathy Acker, etc....yes, I know - quite the chaotic mix. I'm stimulated by diversity.

[BangkokHank]

In a typical year, I'd say that I read about 30 books. Over half of them are literary classics; the rest are non-fiction, including travel, health/diet/cooking, photography, computers, investing and, lately, history. I find that it is possible to learn so much from great books.

Currently I am reading "Cousin Bette", a novel by the prolific French writer Honore de Balzac. (I used to live on Balzac Street in Budapest during part of my time there, so I had long been curious about what got a street named after him in another country.) This book was written in the 1840s and provides a wonderful glimpse into life in Paris at that time. Of major interest to me is that it seemed to have been quite common and acceptable in those days for wealthy Parisian men to have 13-year old mistresses from the French countryside. Equally interesting was the fact that these mistresses were experts at milking their sponsors dry and then moving on to the next man. One might almost think that this book was included in the required reading list of schools in Isaan.

My biggest problem with books is that I am able to buy them much faster than I can read them. At any given time, I have about 50 unread literary classics on my bookshelf waiting to be read. Since it is rare that I read a book twice (with the exception of a few favorites - as well as certain reference books), whenever I finish reading a book, I donate it to a library, specifically the AUA Library on Rachadamri. Over the years, I have given them hundreds of books. In return, I got a free lifetime membership card there. This way I can share the books that I've read and will likely never read again - but in the event that I do wish to re-read any of my books, I know where to find them - and I can borrow them for free.

[Ulysses G.]

I might lean towards distinguished pens as Philip K. Dick

I'm a fan, but I would hardly call Phillip K. Dick "distinguished". Until very recently, he was more of a cult writer. Is this some of that irony that us Americans are supposed to be so poor at recognizing?

[joorakee]

For fun, you may want to mention to the title of the current literary novel you are reading, or recently finished.

Platform by Michel Houellebecq. IMHO a compulsory book for all (s)expats.

[richardjm65]

I read between 130 - 140 books a year and cannot imagine not having a book somewhere near to pick up and relax with. Some of those are re-reads, since I have no decent bookshops nearby and have just about exhausted the collections at the various ex-pat up-country bars and restaurants.

I took a look along my bookshelves (I only keep what I want to re-read) and, excluding the fantasy stuff such as Tolkien, Donaldson, Kenneth Grahame and their ilk, some of the trusted favourites would be Charles Dickens, Kingsley Amis, John Le Carre, Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad, Jerome K Jerome, Erskin Childers, Sebastian Faulks, Louis de Bernieres, Mick Jackson, Christopher Koch, H.E.Bates, Arundhati Roy, T.R.Pearson, Garrison Keillor, John M del Vecchio, Harold Webb, Michael Ondaaatje, Charles Frazier, Erich Maria Remarque, Laurie Lee and Robert Mason.

I read whatever is available, since I reckon reading something really crappy makes you appreciate the better stuff all the more, but do have trouble with sci-fi, westerns and the romantic stuff.

As we're restricted to literary novels, I suppose I can't mention Paul Theroux, Eric Newby, Gavin Young, Alexander Frater and Colin Thubron in respect of the travel genre, nor yet those science writers who have managed to make their work readable to me, such as John Stewart Collis, Lyall Watson and Loren Eiseley.

It's far too diverse a subject to deal with quickly and easily and I realise already how many writers I have left out for various reasons, but it is the vastness of the subject which convinces me that, at least in my lifetime, we are unlikely to see the death of the literary novel just yet - I hope.

[GarryP]

Theroux came to mind but I did not mention him because other than the odd few novels, his main body of work is in travel writing. An enjoyable read anyway. I also like some of Bill Bryson's travel writing but neither of these authors are to everyones' taste.

[Jingthing]

Theroux came to mind but I did not mention him because other than the odd few novels, his main body of work is in travel writing. An enjoyable read anyway. I also like some of Bill Bryson's travel writing but neither of these authors are to everyones' taste.

Paul Theroux is one of my top favorites, his novels and especially his travel books for which he is justly famous. You are correct that not everyone likes him. I suggested his travel books to a good friend and she found him arrogant and snide (as if those were bad things, ha ha).

His novel The Mosquito Coast is yet another example of a literary novel that is both a pleasure and a breeze to read. Where do people get the false idea that literary fiction is dreary? School! How tragic.

Edited January 26, 2010 by Jingthing

[bellste]

Yes, I read a great deal.

I find it relaxing and generally read factual or biographical books rather than fiction.

I agree. I have recently been reading "The History of the KGB", and "The History of the STASI". Very interesting books, there was a lot in them I didn't know about it from before.

I did also read a book written by Alistair MacLean last year. That was a novel.

Edited January 26, 2010 by bellste

[Jingthing]

I have always read mostly literary fiction but also non-fiction about whatever interests me. I have found as I grow older that history and the historical novel genre appeal to me more. A good example, The March by E.L. Doctorow, an excellent novel about the American civil war.

Edited January 26, 2010 by Jingthing

[richardjm65]

I've also heard many criticisms of Paul Theroux - his perceived arrogance and snide-ness, but have realised that he merely reflects truth as he sees it from his position as a loner. I find some of his novels a bit strange, but generally they too reflect his separateness from the mainstream. In his travel stuff, it's really easy to overlook the good things that he has to say and focus instead on his perceived rudeness. I read his "Kingdom by the Sea" with great satisfaction because, although I'm a Brit, I've also been an expat for 37 years, and that does rather make you view your home land through different eyes. He takes his swipes and makes his observations without fear or favour and, I'm sure, in the full knowledge that he is going to upset a few people who take those comments personally. For me, a great favourite.

Since we've slipped away from the OP re novels, I agree entirely on Bill Bryson's work. He can also be fairly abusive, but with a much lighter touch. His description of Mrs Smegma, on his arrival in Britain, still have the power to get me laughing out loud.

Still on travel writers, can I also mention Johnathon Raban as another who has the power to really make it real for you.

Back to literary novels, I confess to having Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" on my shelf. Bought in 1989, I have reached page 25 of over 1,300. Is this a record?

[Jingthing]

Well, if you are reading Tolstoy in English you are reading a translation (always a drag) and also classics. Of course there are great classics, but again I think a lot of people associate literary fiction only with classics, and classics with boring old school.

Yes, you don't have to be British to love Kingdom by the Sea by Theroux.

Thanks for mentioning Raban. I had never heard of him, will have a look.

A very quirky and hilariously anti-American (as well as anti-Thai!) Irish travel writer I have enjoyed is Dervla Murphy, especially her One Foot In Laos.

Edited January 26, 2010 by Jingthing

[richardjm65]

I'll watch out for the Dervla Murphy book, it sounds like my sort of read. Thanks.

My particular favourite Jonathan Raban book is "Old Glory". According to James Cameron of The Spectator, (and I agree), it is "shrewd, keen, malicious, touching and funny" and is an account of his journey down the Mississippi in a purpose built skiff. He also wrote "Soft City" and "Arabia through the Looking Glass".

Funny, you seem to be a bit down on school-taught literature. Well, my old English teacher back in the mid-50's really turned me on to reading. His recommendations went beyond the school curriculum of the day. Later, I went to night school for GCE A level Eng. Lit., and that really opened my eyes and my mind. I would say, though, that my school was unable to instill any affection for Shakespeare. That came much later as a result of some really top-rate TV productions. They re-kindled the dormant interest and Shakespeare became much less intimidating. Fun, even.

[Jingthing]

I think school "learnin" kills the real lifetime love of learning for most people. I think this is obvious.

Don't let school get in the way of your education

Mark Twain Edited January 26, 2010 by Jingthing

[tutsiwarrior]

I read a lot of stuff by Paul Theroux some years ago...one novel on Africa had the evil character 'Deputy Mambo'...unforgettable...would be good to scare misbehavin' kids with...however the protagonist in the same book claimed to have introduced oral sex to african wimmin which I found a bit pretentious; rather exceeded the scope of popular fiction IMO...

[dmax]

nothing beeter than a good book relaxing on the beach

[SeanMoran]

nothing beeter than a good book relaxing on the beach

Jes be careful you don' git too much sand in it, when yo relaxin', now...

[Jingthing]

I read a lot of stuff by Paul Theroux some years ago...one novel on Africa had the evil character 'Deputy Mambo'...unforgettable...would be good to scare misbehavin' kids with...however the protagonist in the same book claimed to have introduced oral sex to african wimmin which I found a bit pretentious; rather exceeded the scope of popular fiction IMO...

Our friend Paul was a major league monger during his youth in Africa.

[Ulysses G.]

my school was unable to instill any affection for Shakespeare.

I keep written Shakespeare and the Bible together in the same place - the trash bin.

[Ulysses G.]

I read a lot of stuff by Paul Theroux some years ago...one novel on Africa had the evil character 'Deputy Mambo'...unforgettable...would be good to scare misbehavin' kids with...however the protagonist in the same book claimed to have introduced oral sex to african wimmin which I found a bit pretentious; rather exceeded the scope of popular fiction IMO...

Our friend Paul was a major league monger during his youth in Africa.

I loved the one by Theroux about running a whorehouse in Singapore during the Vietnam war - anyone remember the name? There were some great books written about those times.

[anonymouse]

I read a lot of stuff by Paul Theroux some years ago...one novel on Africa had the evil character 'Deputy Mambo'...unforgettable...would be good to scare misbehavin' kids with...however the protagonist in the same book claimed to have introduced oral sex to african wimmin which I found a bit pretentious; rather exceeded the scope of popular fiction IMO...

Our friend Paul was a major league monger during his youth in Africa.

I loved the one by Theroux about running a whorehouse in Singapore during the Vietnam war - anyone remember the name? There were some great books written about those times.

It was Saint Jack, his last travel book 'Ghost Train to the Eastern Star' was my favourite book of last year, I read around a hundred books a year, so it comes highly recommended.

I normally have three or four books on the go at the same time, currently reading ' Crime & Punishment' by Dostoyevsky, Bandit Roads by Richard Grant which is a great travel book about the Sierra Madre region of Mexico, probably one of the most dangerous places in the world. I'm also battling my way through the collected short fiction of J G Ballard which is a huge tome of a book, he was my favourite living author up until last year when he sadly died of cancer.

[dutchguest]

Recently I also read part of Theroux' "Train to the eastern star", the part playing in Thailand, but I wasn't much impressed.

In the past I read many of his books and liked them, but now I got the impression he is writing too much and too fast living on his name.

[Ulysses G.]

I'm also battling my way through the collected short fiction of J G Ballard which is a huge tome of a book, he was my favourite living author up until last year when he sadly died of cancer.

IMHO, Empire of the Sun is one great book - a modern classic - as is the movie which Speilberg never got enough credit for.